Officials silent on passport images

26 September 2013 Last updated at 05:34 GMT Citizens of Northern Ireland can opt for an Irish passport Irish officials have refused to be drawn on whether Northern Ireland's most famous tourist attraction will feature on a new-look Irish passport.

Some Irish landmarks, like the Cliffs of Moher and the Rock of Cashel, will be depicted as watermarks.

However it is not yet known if landscapes from Northern Ireland, such as the Giant's Causeway, will appear.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs would not say if any images from the north will be on the new document.

The department commissioned the landscape pictures and images that reflected aspects of culture and heritage.

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore will unveil the new passports on Monday and they will come into official use in October.

Security

Among the featured landmarks is the Samuel Beckett bridge across the river Liffey in Dublin.

Some images under consideration included native trees, cultural monuments such as round towers and images representing the four provinces of Ireland: Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht.

It is understood there was some discussion within the Department of Foreign Affairs about including images from Northern Ireland, since citizens from the north can opt for an Irish passport.

The department would not make any comment ahead of the official launch.

The new passport will also have increased security features.

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Nepal officials vow to ensure security on Everest after fight

Mount Everest (C), the world highest peak, and other peaks of the Himalayan range are seen from air during a mountain flight from Kathmandu April 24, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Tim Chong

By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU | Mon Apr 29, 2013 7:30am EDT

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal officials vowed on Monday to ensure the safety of climbers seeking to scale Mount Everest after three European climbers were involved in a fight with sherpa guides on their way to the peak of the world's highest mountain.

Three experienced climbers from Britain, Italy and Switzerland were on route to camp three at 7,000 meters (22,965 feet) on the 8,850 meters (29,035 feet) Everest summit when a brawl broke out on Saturday with sherpas fixing their ropes.

Witnesses said the sherpas pelted the Europeans' tents with stones and punches were thrown.

Swiss climber Ueli Steck descended to the base camp after the attack and said he would abandon the climb and return to Kathmandu if proper security was not ensured.

Nepali officials were quick to respond after the unusual brawl on Mount Everest, which is a key source of income for impoverished Nepal as foreign climbers pay royalties to scale the world's highest peak.

Tourism Ministry official Dipendra Paudel said the government would ensure the safety and security of the climbers.

"There was a slight misunderstanding and communication gap between them," Paudel said in Kathmandu after contacting the base camp. "This has been sorted out and the climbers are at the base camp."

He said the European climbers would resume their bid to climb Everest.

Officials said hundreds of climbers from 32 expeditions and their sherpas were on Mount Everest in the current climbing season which continues through May.

Sherpas are locals from the Everest region and are noted for their climbing skills. They are responsible for fixing ropes and accompany most of the foreign climbers to the summit.

Beni Hyoju, an official of the Cho-Oyu Trekking agency that organized the expedition, said the three European climbers had failed to comply with a request from their sherpa guides to stay at a location while the guides fixed the route.

Hyoju said this made the sherpas unhappy and they attacked the climbers. No one was critically wounded.

"(Steck) has now agreed to continue the climb after local administration assured proper security," Hyoju said. "Sherpas who were responsible for the fight will offer (an) apology."

Historian Elizabeth Hawley, who has been tracking foreign expeditions to Mount Everest for more than five decades, said this type of fighting on the mountain was rare.

"I have not heard of any such incident before," said Hawley.

About 4,000 climbers have reached the top of Everest since it was first scaled by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith)

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